Freight markets, politics, the threat of tariffs and the future of global trade – with Brandon Fried & Jon Monroe

Uncertainty and risk haunt supply chains right now, just as they shadow global politics and economics. Indeed, the future of trade and the musical chairs of international relations have possibly not been tethered so tightly since at least the Cold War, and perhaps even the Second World War. From Guyana to Central Asia, the Middle East to the South China Sea and Black Sea, risk stalks trade and threatens supply chain resilience, while the outbreak of conflict is reshaping the logistics landscape. And we also have a different type of risk in 2024 in the shape of billions of people heading to the polls, not least in the US where Americans are getting ready to elect a new President and trade policy – and the threat of new tariffs on US imports from China and elsewhere - is a key political battleground. This episode, produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group, asks what all this means in practical terms for freight markets, the shippers that rely on international supply chains, and those in the business of making trade happen, both now and in the long-term. Host Mike King and his guests also discuss whether technology and collaboration offer solutions to current supply chain inefficiencies and examine the pros and cons of China+1 options. This episode also includes updates on ocean and air freight markets and rates, insight into the trans-Pacific contracting season, and more analysis of supply chain disruptions including Red Sea diversions, the threat of strikes at US East Coast ports later this year, and the ongoing closure of large swathes of air space to ‘Western’ airlines. Guests: Jon Monroe, President, Jon Monroe Consulting Brandon Fried, Executive Director, Airforwarders Association (AfA) Episode notes: ‘Rethinking my economics’, Angus Deaton. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2024/03/Symposium-Rethinking-Economics-Angus-Deaton Angus Deaton is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Emeritus, at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. He is the 2015 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.